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Brooks to be charged with perverting course of justice

Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks to be charged with perverting the course of justice during the phone-hacking scandal.

Mrs Brooks and her racehorse trainer husband Charlie revealed the charges in a statement in which they criticised the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service.

They said:

We have this morning been informed by the Office of the Department of Public Prosecutions that we are to be charged with perverting the course of justice.We deplore this weak and unjust decision.After the further unprecedented posturing of the CPS we will respond later today after our return from the police station.

Rebekah Brooks and Cheryl Carter between 6th July and 9th July 2011 conspired together to permanently to remove seven boxes of material from the archive of News International.

Charge 3 – Conspiracy to pervert the course of justice:

Rebekah Brooks, Charles Brooks, Mark Hanna, Paul Edwards and Daryl Jorsling conspired together and with persons unknown, between 15th July and 19th July 2011, to conceal documents, computers and other electronic equipment from officers of the Metropolitan Police Service.

The Crown Prosecution Service received a file of evidence from the Metropolitan Police Service on 27th March 2012 in relation to seven suspects:

Rebekah Brooks;

Charles Brooks;

Cheryl Carter - Mrs Brooks' personal assistant;

Mark Hanna - News International Head of Security;

Paul Edwards - Mrs Brooks' chauffeur;

Daryl Jorsling, who provided security for Mrs Brooks;

A seventh suspect, against whom no charges have been made.

Mrs Brooks, a Warrington-born highflyer in Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation media empire, was one of the most high-profile figures in the industry.

She was appointed chief executive of News International in 2009 before quitting in July 2011. Days later she was arreste dover alleged phone-hacking and corruption, offences for which she remains on bail without charge.

She was arrested again in March in connection withthe separate perverting the course of justice allegation, with her husband andfour others. And in a statement, the once high-profile figure is now listed as "unemployed" of Churchill, Oxfordshire.

Today's decision to bring charges comes just days after Mrs Brooks lifted the lid on her close relationship with the Prime Minister at the Leveson Inquiry into press standards.